Theirs to Keep (Tangled Hearts Trilogy #1)(36)

And if she’d been in trouble with the police, they could have a clusterf*ck on their hands.

A noise in the hallway alerted him, and he turned his head to look over his shoulder to see Elle shuffling toward the kitchen.

“Finally awake, sleepyhead?” he called out in a teasing voice that he hoped covered his relief at seeing her.

She ignored him and continued on, disappearing from view. There was something off about her. The way she walked. She never even reacted to his voice, and if she hadn’t been aware of his presence, he should have startled her.

Frowning, he pushed himself up from the armchair and started toward the kitchen only to hear the door slam shut.

What the hell?

He charged into the kitchen only to find Elle gone. He glanced toward the door and saw the silhouette of her body heading through the garage.

“What the ever-loving f**k,” he muttered.

He yanked open the door just in time to see Elle walk from the confines of the garage straight out into the rain.

“Elle! Elle!” he yelled.

He sprinted out of the garage, flinching when the cold rain pelted his face. Elle had stopped at the end of the walkway and stared sightlessly into the street. God, what if he hadn’t been up to see her walk out of the house? She could have been killed!

He grasped her shoulders and steered her back toward the house. She blinked in surprise and then seemed to come back to reality.

She stared up at him, rain sluicing down her face. Her hair was bedraggled and soaked through.

“Merrick?” she asked in confusion. “Why are we standing in the rain?”

She looked down, holding her arms out as her clothing dripped water, and then back up at him in bewilderment.

“Come on, let’s get you back inside,” he said in a grim voice.

He herded her back through the garage and into the kitchen.

“Stay right where you are. Let me grab a towel.”

He ducked into the small laundry room and pulled a towel from the dryer. When he returned to Elle, she was shivering, partly from cold, but she seemed to be in shock.

He wrapped the towel around her and rubbed vigorously.

“We need to get you out of these clothes and into a hot shower.”

She allowed him to lead her toward the bathroom. Her expression was still mostly blank, as if she had no idea what had just transpired. He sat her down on the closed toilet seat and then turned on the shower.

“What happened, Elle?” he asked as he started removing her shirt.

He hoped if he could get her talking that she wouldn’t focus on the fact that he was stripping her down to nothing. He didn’t want her to freak out, and it was entirely possible given her current emotional state.

“I don’t know,” she said blankly. “The last thing I remember is going to bed and then suddenly I was standing in the rain with you in front of me.”

Merrick cursed. “Never known anyone who sleepwalked, but it sure as hell sounds like that’s what happened.”

“Why on earth would I walk out of the house?”

Her voice shook, and he could see how freaked out she was over the idea of just walking out without realizing it.

“That I don’t know, baby. You scared the hell out of me. God only knows what could have happened if I hadn’t been up and seen you walk out the door.”

Reaction set in on him about the same time it hit her. His hands shook as he pulled her up to peel down her wet pants. He and Cade would have woken up and found her gone, and they may never have found her again.

Or she could have been killed or seriously injured.

Or she could have simply walked away and kept on walking.

“Slip out of your panties,” he said in a gentle voice. “We need to get you in the shower and warmed up. You need help, or can you make it on your own?”

She glanced down and remained still for a long moment. “I can do it,” she finally murmured.

“Okay, but I’m staying right here. I’ll get another dry towel and a change of clothes for you, but then I’ll be back.”

She nodded and stepped into the shower, flinching when the hot water hit her cold skin.

When he was certain she wasn’t going to take a header in the shower, he quickly left the bathroom to get the towel and something for her to wear. He hesitated outside of Cade’s bedroom a moment, pondering whether to wake his friend.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t handle the situation with Elle, but if they were going to be in this together, Cade needed to know. Merrick would be pissed as hell if this had happened while he’d been sleeping and Cade hadn’t woke him up.

And there was the fact that Cade could brew a pot of hot coffee while Elle was in the shower. Then maybe they could sit down together and hash this out.

He knocked on Cade’s door and then stuck his head in. Cade stirred and stuck his head up, his eyes blurry with sleep.

“What’s up?” Cade asked.

“I’ll explain more later, but I need you to put on some coffee so we can warm Elle up. She was sleepwalking in the rain. I have her in the shower now.”

Cade was up in an instant. “What the f**k?”

“Yeah, that was my reaction,” Merrick muttered.

Cade dragged on a pair of sweats and was throwing on a T-shirt when Merrick ducked back out of the bedroom.

He entered the bathroom to see Elle standing under the spray, her head down, eyes closed. Her face was contorted as if whatever she was thinking was causing her pain.